Chapter 2

Fred looked at her.

“We can easily afford a few outfits. Don’t make a scene and embarrass us.”

Mom hurried to agree. “Exactly. You’re so thoughtful, Fred.”

Then, she turned and glared at me. “Well? Aren’t you going to thank him?”

I took the shopping bags from the sales associate. “Thank you, Fred.”

Half an hour later, I stepped inside Fred’s sprawling mansion.

A grand spiral staircase and glittering crystal chandelier greeted me.

In the original timeline, Dad had bought a luxury penthouse after winning the lottery, but it would have looked modest next to this place.

None of that mattered to me, though.

Carrying my new clothes, I followed Mom’s directions and quietly retreated to the room that had been prepared for me.

The room was spacious. The bed was soft.

I lay down and closed my eyes.

A faint, dull ache throbbed inside my head.

At dinner, Mom carefully coached me on table manners.

“This is how you hold your knife and fork. Try not to slurp your soup.”

She was terrified that I might embarrass her in front of her new family.

Across the table, a mischievous gleam appeared in Audrey’s eyes.

She picked up a bowl of hot soup and held it out to me.

“Here, bumpkin. Have some soup.”

I reached for it, but she deliberately let go before I had a firm grip.

Scalding soup spilled all over the back of my hand.

Before I could even react, Mom cried out.

“You’re so clumsy! Look what you’ve done to the carpet! Go clean yourself up in the bathroom!”

She cared about the carpet and the embarrassment I had caused her, while my hand, which was already red and beginning to blister, meant nothing to her.

I wiped it with a napkin, rose from my seat, and apologized. “I’m sorry.”

Fred set down his fork with a hardened expression.

“Audrey, apologize.”

Audrey pouted. “I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not my fault she dropped it.”

Fred’s voice turned cold. “I won’t ask again. Apologize.”

Audrey reluctantly muttered an apology.

Mom hurried to smooth things over.

“The children are just playing around. She’s tough.

“She’ll be fine. Please don’t be angry with Audrey.”

Fred ignored her and handed me a tube of burn cream.

“Apply this.”

I took it from him.

“Thank you.”

Back in my room, I sat on the edge of the bed and applied the burn cream.

My phone rang. It was Dad.

Loud conversation and the clink of glasses filled the background.

I heard the flick of his lighter before he spoke. His voice was brimming with smug excitement.

“Listen, kid, I’m about to strike it rich! I know those numbers are going to win. But since you chose to go with your mother this time—and I know you've been reborn just like me—don’t come expecting a share as you did before.

“I’ve got plans for that money. You just stay put at your mother’s place!”

I dabbed the cream over the blisters on my hand. My voice was flat.

“Okay. I hope you win big.”

After I ended the call, I heard soft footsteps outside my room.

Mom was standing in the doorway, though I had no idea how long she had been there.

She pushed the door open and regarded me warily.

“Stop talking to that broke father of yours. I don’t want his low-class ways brought into this house. It took me long enough to find my place in this family, so keep your head down and don’t ruin things for me.”

I studied her carefully made-up face.

“Okay. I will.”

Apparently satisfied with my answer, she turned and closed the door behind her.

In the middle of the night, I woke up with a blinding headache.

The pain was so intense that my body broke out in a cold sweat.

I opened the drawer, only to find my bottle of painkillers empty.

Using the wall for support, I slowly made my way downstairs to look for more.

The living room was dark.

When I passed by the terrace, I found Fred there. He could not sleep either.

He held a glass of red wine and gazed into the distant night.

At the sound of my footsteps, he turned around.

In the moonlight, he studied my dull, exhausted eyes and said in a measured voice, “Audrey lost her mother when she was young. Ever since then, she has tended to bristle whenever someone new joins the family.”